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Redmond takes it easy on hitters on Day 1

JUPITER, Fla. -- Day one of full-squad workouts have traditionally featured pitchers facing hitters.

Manager Mike Redmond changed things up a little bit in his first Spring Training as a big league manager.

A former catcher, Redmond was not a big fan of stepping onto the field and immediately seeing 90-mph pitches. So, the Marlins are easing into things more.

Batters will face pitchers beginning Monday.

"I don't know if any position player likes coming right out of the chute the first day and facing live pitching," Redmond said. "The luxury that we have is with that extra time, we can kind of get those guys a few extra days of batting practice. Get them a little more comfortable. Get their hands used to swinging a little bit before we throw them in there against the pitchers, live."

The extra time is because Spring Training is a week longer this season because of the World Baseball Classic.

Technically, Miami's first full-squad workout was Friday. But because of rain, hitting was done in the cages.

Saturday was the first time everyone was on the field, and hitters took batting practice thrown by the coaching staff.

"We're trying to ease into it a little bit," Redmond said. "We've got a lot of time. We've got that extra week. You don't want to get this thing too monotonous where we are doing the same thing, continuously, day in and day out."